


Running Feet

by NerdyFangirling



Series: When you're a dumbass [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, I still have no clue which this is, M/M, Oblivious Bucky Barnes, as in he does not realise he's talking to captain america for far too long, did I mention Disaster Gay bucky?, disaster gay bucky barnes, functional bi steve rogers, meet cute, meet ugly, preschool teacher Bucky Barnes, she's just in texts but still
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-19 07:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20327548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdyFangirling/pseuds/NerdyFangirling
Summary: He was walking into the gym, lost in thought, when he heard an almighty thump. He hadn’t fully gotten himself out of his “work” frame of mind yet, and he’d looked up on instinct expecting to see a crying 4-year-old who’d fallen off the playground. What he definitely did not expect was to see a fully grown man on the floor next to a still-running treadmill.“See, this is why we use our walking feet instead of our running feet, isn't it?" Bucky heard himself say the words, but it took a hot second for his brain to process. Funny, considering it had been his auto-pilot brain that had caused him to say it in the first place."Yeah," he heard, distantly. "Yeah, I guess it is."aka Bucky is a complete Disaster Gay and accidentally tells a hot guy to use his walking feet because he got flustered and forgot that he's not talking to a four-year-old.This is the sequel to Walking Feet but can be read individually as they follow roughly the same timeline, this one is just from Bucky's point of view (where WF is from Steve's) Both are rated T because of minor swearing





	Running Feet

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read Walking Feet yet you can still read this but if you wanna read Steve's side of their meeting then go check it out :)

It had been a long day at work. He loves working with kids, really, he does. It’s just that they’re a lot of work sometimes. Most of the time. All the time. Especially today. Bucky had had to explain to Jayden why he needed to walk roughly five million times before lunch. Honestly, every interaction with the kids today had him asking them if they were listening and repeating himself twice. Kids are cute, and they’re great fun when they’re actually somewhat attentive, but today? At least it was over.

He was walking into the gym, lost in thought, when he heard an almighty _thump_. Whipping his head up from the ground, Bucky tried to locate the source of the sound and see if anyone was hurt. He wished he could say it was because he cared so much about the well-being of strangers - which, he would argue, he does - but honestly? He hadn’t fully gotten himself out of his “work” frame of mind yet, and he’d looked up on instinct expecting to see a crying 4-year-old who’d fallen off the playground. What he definitely did _not _expect was to see a fully grown man on the floor next to a still-running treadmill.

“See, this is why we use our walking feet instead of our running feet, isn't it?" Bucky heard himself say the words, but it took a hot second for his brain to process. Funny, considering it had been his auto-pilot brain that had caused him to say it in the first place.

A second later, he’d successfully processed the words that had just come out of his mouth, and the tone too. And _damn_. In that second he’d also managed to get a better look at who he’d said it to, and he could not have chosen a worse person if he’d tried. The dude was ripped, like absolutely jacked, and looked like he could tear Bucky apart if he so wished. On top of his quite frankly god-like muscles, he also had a really pretty face. Stunning. If he wasn’t already in shock because of what he’d said, he’d definitely be going into shock because of how good looking this guy was. It wasn’t fair really, that this guy should get all the good looking genes in the world.

But _ God_, had Bucky really just said that? To an actual, live, human being over the age of five? What a great first impression that was.

"Yeah," he heard, distantly. "Yeah, I guess it is." The guy was smiling a little. Not quite hesitantly, but not grinning either. Almost like he was inviting Bucky to smile with him. Which, no that couldn’t be it. What could a guy like _him_ possibly want with a guy like _ Bucky_? Metal arm - which he wasn’t even sure the other man had noticed yet - aside, he was way out of Bucky’s league. For starters, Bucky was basically the definition of a Disaster Gay - a point which was only proven by his current situation. On top of that, there was no way he could ever compete with this guy’s looks, like _come on_. And besides, he had just told the guy to use his goddamn _walking legs _in the same tone he would use with a three-year-old. God, the guy probably assumed Bucky thought he was dumb. Really dumb. And while sure, the other guy had fallen off a treadmill, at least he hadn’t just inadvertently told the world’s most beautiful human that he had the same IQ as a kindergartener.

Bucky was pulled from his shock by a hand being presented to him. "I'm Steve," a voice said. A pause, and then in a teasing tone, "thanks for the advice.” And _boy_. If that didn’t bring Bucky to his senses.

"Oh my _ God, _ I am so sorry, I usually work with kids and it's just been such a long day and I haven't really gotten out of my work mode, holy shit I'm so sorry, I can't believe I just told you to use your _ walking feet _ for Christ's sake, this is so embarrassing -"

The man - Steve - interrupted his tirade, which was lucky, because now that he’d started apologising, he didn’t think he’d be stopping of his own accord anytime soon. "It's okay, really. You have no reason to be embarrassed - I'm the idiot who fell off the treadmill." At this, Bucky smiled, just a little. Because, yeah, in his utter shock at what he’d done, he had completely forgotten that this guy with muscles for days had somehow fallen off a treadmill. It wasn’t like it was his first day at the gym, that’s for sure. "What's your name?"

Oh. Steve had kept talking to him. That was a good sign, right? He hadn’t messed up too badly. It did, however, warrant a verbal answer this time. Maybe this could be take two on a first impression.

He looked up, making eye contact. This second first impression was going to be a good one. Except, _wow _his eyes were beautiful, a fact which may or may not have distracted Bucky from giving a graceful answer. "I- uh- Bucky. My name, it's uh- it's Bucky." Okay, so maybe this wouldn’t be a better impression.

"So do you usually go around telling people to use their walking feet?" _ No. Absolutely not. And this mockery isn’t helping. _ Except, his voice didn’t really sound like he was mocking him, or even like he was annoyed. His eyes had a glint in them that hadn’t been there before, and Bucky realised he was being teased. 

"Oh _ God._ No, I don't,” Bucky pulled his left hand through his hair, just to see if there was a reaction to the metal. Nothing except a soft smile, but that didn’t go away when he put his hand back down, and his gaze didn’t even follow the hand. Huh. “Like I said, I work with kids and haven't really switched out of work mode yet. I'm a preschool teacher so I spend a lot of time trying to keep them out of trouble, and making sure they walk instead of running is both the easiest and the hardest way to do that. I spend a _ lot _ of my time telling them to stop running."

"Ah, well, it sure is a shame that none of them were here to see you proved right then." The soft smile had given way to the same teasing grin as before. Okay, so Steve had a sense of humour? This he could work with. He’d been practising teasing people his whole life thanks to Becca. Though to be fair, he hadn’t expected that to result in a conversation with Steve, who was quite possibly the hottest man on earth. 

Grinning, Bucky began teasing the other man in return. “I know! They'll never believe me when I tell them they need to use their walking feet in case of faulty treadmills."

"Hmm sure. We can blame the treadmill if it makes me come out of this story lookin' any better." Honestly. He really was everything Bucky could want in a guy - funny, kind, and hot as an added bonus - which according to Murphy’s Law almost certainly meant he was straight. But hey, Bucky wasn’t going to shoot himself in the foot here if he could help it. Even if they just became friends, Steve definitely seemed like the kind of guy he wanted to spend more time around.

Apparently, Steve had the same idea, because after a beat, he added, “Hey, so I figure you actually came here to do more than laugh at an idiot for falling off a treadmill, but once you’re done do you wanna get a coffee or something?”

Somehow he managed to sound unsure of himself when he asked as if Bucky might actually say no to him. Quick to reassure him that yes, he would _love _ to go on a date - if that’s what it was - he couldn’t help taking the opportunity to mess with Steve a little. After all, if this _was_ a date and it went well, Steve would eventually find out just how much of a little shit Bucky can be. Why delay the inevitable? “I’ll just be a few minutes if you don’t mind hanging around? Assuming you’re already done that is. Which of these machines do you reckon would make for the best photo?”

He almost felt bad about it, except the face Steve made was too funny to feel remorse. His inner crisis was written all over his face. His mouth hung open slightly, his eyes had a tormented glaze, and the rest of his face went slack. Apparently, Bucky’s acting skills he’d picked up when playing pranks as a kid weren’t too rusty. It didn’t take long for him to drop the act though, as he reassured himself that even the best actors broke character to laugh sometimes. 

Struggling to breathe through his laughter, Bucky managed to eloquently describe to Steve how he had reacted. Or, he managed to gasp out that it was _hilarious _and that he had absolutely no regrets.

Pretty soon, Steve was laughing with him, and there they were, two near-strangers standing in the middle of the gym, laughing their asses off. It was nice. It made Bucky want more of it.

“You’re a real jerk, you know that right?” Despite the potential for it, there was no menace behind the words, simply mirth.

Bucky responded with a smirk. “Sure punk, but you like me anyway.” Because really, if Steve was going to call him a _jerk _like some third-grader, Bucky felt perfectly entitled to call him a punk. Realising that he hadn’t actually told Steve when he would be available for their maybe-date, he added, “I’ll actually be done in about an hour if that suits you?” His voice didn’t come out as smooth and confident as he’d hoped, and instead portrayed his uncertainties clear as day. He really hoped Steve didn’t notice. Then again, what did it matter if he came off as suave now? He’d already treated Steve like one of his kids at work, and then barely managed to get out his name. It was too late for suave.

When Steve responded enthusiastically, it was hard not to smile. He sounded almost as excited about their hopefully-date as Bucky was, which not only made him look forward to it more but validated his anticipation.

When Bucky suggested meeting at the cafe down the road to give him time to shower and get changed (because this was, after all, a probably-a-date and his sweaty gym clothes were absolutely not going to be date-appropriate), Steve just looked him up and down and said, “Sorry, not an option. How can I make sure I’m the better looking guy if you aren’t at a disadvantage?” Which, first of all, had the guy looked in a mirror lately? And anyway, Bucky was pretty sure he was the one who needed the advantage. But then again, Steve was _definitely _flirting there, which means this was an almost-certainly-a-date, _ and _he’d done it via being a little shit. In the best kind of way of course.

Playing along, Bucky rolled his eyes. “Ah right, so silly of me to want to look presentable. I hope you can forgive me.”

For a few seconds, Steve looked as though he was considering his apology - or pretending to at least - before giving in. “Alright. I suppose you can have a shower. But not too long, I want my coffee.”

“Yes, sir.” With a flick of his fingers, Bucky gave Steve a lazy salute. At that, his expression turned pensive, and a little confused. As quickly as his new mood had appeared, it disappeared. With a small shake of his head, Steve’s smile returned.

“Yup, sounds good to me.”

Bucky forced himself to turn away casually so that Steve wouldn’t see him mentally screaming. He had a date with Steve! Super hot, super funny Steve! Who wanted to get coffee with him! This could well be the best day of his life, depending on how the aforementioned date ended up.

* * *

Bucky ended up cutting his gym workout short so that he had plenty of time to get ready for his date with Steve. This turned out to be a wise decision when there were only ten minutes before Bucky was due at the cafe - which was five minutes away from his house - and he still wasn’t dressed. Was he supposed to dress up? Obviously, it was a date, but how much? He’d considered his go-to date outfit, but that seemed too nice for a coffee date at a cafe since most of his dates were in the evening, and decidedly more formal. And anyway, he hadn’t been on a date in ages, so it barely even counted as a go-to date outfit anymore. But he still didn’t want to go on his first (hopefully of many) date with Steve wearing something he classed as a default for everybody else. Steve seemed worth more effort than that. Except more effort meant more formal. And more formal meant overdressed, and also that he would have to iron a shirt, which he didn’t have time for.

Finally, just as he was about to give up and wear his go-to outfit, Becca replied to the stream of frantic texts he’d sent her from the gym.

**Bex:** ok seriously mate you’re a loser

**Bex:** i can’t believe you really just sent me eight texts because you have, and i quote, a “probably-a-date”

**Bex:** i mean i can believe it, because you’re a loser, but still

**Bex:** but to answer your question you should wear your bomber jacket with a plain white tshirt and black jeans and white sneakers

**Bex:** idk why you even asked man what else have i ever suggested

Throwing on the suggested clothes, Bucky practically ran to the cafe to make it on time. Turns out that dragging your sister clothes shopping with you had long term benefits as well as the short term benefit of not shopping alone - a task Bucky considered to be nothing short of sad and boring.

When he got there, it took a moment for him to find Steve. He was sitting in the far corner, out of sight from the sidewalk, and was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. It seemed like an odd ensemble to be wearing inside, almost like a celebrity trying to go incognito. Which was weird, except,oh. _Oh_. A man called Steve, with an almost _ superhuman _ body, living in New York, going incognito. If Becca thought he was a loser before, she was never going to let him live this down. He had told _ Captain America _ to use his walking feet. Bucky felt a bit like Ron Weasley, because _ What. An. Idiot. _

Trying to play it cool, Bucky headed over to meet Steve.

“Pretty good disguise you got there Clark Kent.” Would Steve get that reference? Did he know about Superman? Bucky was pretty sure it had come out before Steve had gone under the ice, but it wasn’t like he knew the release dates of every comic ever, he just knew that Superman was really old.

Apparently, Superman was either old enough that Steve already knew it, or he’d caught up on it since waking up in this century because he grinned at Bucky with amusement. “So you finally caught on then Lois?”

“Ha ha. Very funny,” deadpanned Bucky, steadfastly ignoring that Steve had called him Lois - famously Superman’s _ love interest _. He could dwell on that later; for now, he really needed a drink, preferably something with chocolate. “Hey, I’m just gonna go order a drink and come back, do you want anything?”

“Nah I’ve actually already ordered. But make sure you get something hydrating, you look like you used your running feet to get here.” Even if he hadn’t been looking at Steve, he could have heard the smile in his voice. So that was how it was gonna be huh?

Repressing his embarrassment at the fact that Steve had noticed he’d run there - that was a problem for future Bucky to deal with - Bucky just shrugged. “Well yeah, _ I’m _ allowed to use my running feet. Unlike _ some _ people,” this was accompanied by a pointed look at the person in question, “_I’ve _ proven that I’m capable of using them safely.”

Even though he’d heard Steve laugh at the gym earlier, it still made him feel stupidly happy inside. The sound of it filled him with giddiness, spilling out of him in the form of his own laughter.

The conversation flowed pretty easily from there, even with breaks for collecting drinks, and before they knew it two hours had passed. Bucky learnt that Steve was bi, but didn't see how that was of any concern to the public. And yeah, Bucky got that. It was his life, and he didn't have to share it with the world, no matter how entitled to it they felt. More importantly though, he learnt that Steve had an awful sense of humour - honestly worse than he had let on earlier. He delighted in bringing up “the good ol’ days” like some sort of populist, trying to convince him that life was better back when the flu was a deadly disease. Any time Bucky mentioned a modern problem, Steve just put on his shirt-eating grin and said something about how, "Back in my day, we wouldn't have had to worry about that," or that, "The thing about growing up during the Great Depression is that we would have given anything to have such frivolous problems." And, sure, Steve would probably argue that it was Bucky's fault for getting wound up about it so easily - he really did make it too easy for Steve - but that wasn't the point. The point was that the country idolised this man for being Perfect, but instead he was the kind of guy whose ideal conversation was roughly 80% roasting and teasing.

If he was being honest, Bucky loved it. He was so easy to talk to, and if he didn't have to get up for work the next morning _ and _ have had enough sleep to deal with toddlers, he could happily stay here talking to Steve forever. But he did need to work, and he did need to sleep for that, so he had to leave.

Aiming for suave, Bucky decided to shoot his shot, and ask for Steve's number before he left.

"So uhh.. I- okay look. I've had a really great time with you this afternoon. Evening," he paused. "I've had a great time today." Despite the rough start, he didn't seem to be doing too badly. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to do this again sometime? And uh.. maybecouldyougivemeyournumbersoIcankeeptalkingtoyou? I mean - if you're allowed to that is. Are you allowed to just give your number to civilians? If you can't I totally get it. But if you can?" Hmm. There goes suave. He supposed luck only lasts so long.

It was okay though, because Steve smiled at him, and it reached his eyes. "I'd love that." He reached for his phone, and held it out to Bucky to put his number in. When he was done, Bucky sent a quick text to himself so he'd have Steve's number too. "Does tomorrow afternoon suit you?"

And here Bucky was beginning to worry about whether texting Steve tonight would be coming on too strong. He smiled back at Steve. "Yeah that'd be cool." 

They organised a time and place to meet, and all too soon Bucky didn't have any excuse to stay anymore. As they left the cafe, Bucky decided to give smooth one last try. He looped an arm around Steve's shoulders and damn he almost dropped his cool facade because those muscles. Somehow, he managed to channel his inner functional-gay, and when they were about to part ways, he smiled at Steve before pulling him into a hug. Steve's arms immediately wrapped around him in return. It was nice.

* * *

When he got home, Steve had already sent him a text.

**Steve:** Okay, so maybe there is the one thing that this century has over the last one

Eyebrows raised to himself, Bucky quickly typed a reply.

_ What, texting? _

**Steve:** You know what? Nevermind

**Steve: **I was going to say you, but now out of principle I need to ignore that in favour of explaining why letters are better

_ Ah yes, because waiting days to send a message to someone who lives in the same city as you is so much better than instantly messaging them… _

**Steve:** Letters are so much more romantic! You know that they took time out of their day because they wanted to talk to you

_ Mmk sure but I could be sleeping right now pal and instead I’m taking the time out of my day to talk to you. _

_ Plus, you know that I am because you're getting it in real time so you Know that I could be sleeping right now instead of talking to you. _

**Steve:** Oh wow I didn't realise there were different timezones in New York. It's only 1823 where I am

Yeah, Steve didn't deserve a proper name in Bucky's phone. His current one definitely had to be changed.

When he had finished changing the contact name, he already had 2 new messages.

**america's Idiot:** I can't believe one city has so many timezones! There's gotta be at least three really, if it's already late enough for you to be sleeping

**america's Idiot: **And across just one neighbourhood too! New York really has grown since the 40s hasn't it

_ Ok so maybe I wouldn't be sleeping Right Now, but I could be eating dinner _

To be fair, he _ was _eating dinner, because typing and eating at the same time wasn't much of a challenge now that he had his new arm. He enjoyed being able to use both hands at once, and took every opportunity to do it - like now. But Steve didn't need to know that, because that would absolutely undermine Bucky's own argument.

_ Also it feels important that you know your contact name has been changed to something far more accurate. _

**america's Idiot:** .... Do I get to know what?

_ Nope _

_ You can find out tomorrow afternoon :) _

**america's Idiot:** :(

Work tomorrow didn't seem like such a daunting prospect anymore. Even if the kids were as annoying as they had been today, he had something to look forward to this time. Steve.

**Author's Note:**

> I work with kids so the first paragraph was literally just me projecting after a couple of kids decided to be a Pain In The Ass the other day.
> 
> Also, fun fact, Superman was first released in 1938, so Steve probably did know it
> 
> Working title for this one was "When you're a dumbass and tell a got guy to use his goddamn walking feet" and tbh if it wasn't so long I definitely would have used that
> 
> It's irrelevant to anything but I listened to Six while writing about 80% of this fic and I probably accidentally put a Six reference in here somewhere. I'm incredibly bad at typing and singing at the same time without accidentally typing the lyrics. Tbh there's probably also a Set It Up reference because I love that movie and have watched it twice this week.


End file.
